Visual distress signaling system

ABSTRACT

A visual distress signaling system designed especially for use in conjunction with automotive vehicles and including two lamps of different colors viewable from the front of the vehicle, and two lamps of different colors viewable from the back of the vehicle. A manually operable control unit capable of operating the front and rear lights independently, and particularly for flashing the front or rear lights alternately as a primary distress signal and simultaneously flashing only one of the lights (preferably the blue light) at the opposite end of the vehicle indicating to passers-by going in the other direction to disregard for flashing only one of the front and rear lights as an acknowledgement of another primary distress signal, and for flashing only the other lamp of the front and rear lights as a secondary distress signal for guiding a rescue vehicle or indicating that assistance has been provided.

United States [72] lnventor Hugh L. Dobbins 827 Concord Road, Smyrna,Ga. 30080 [21] Appl. No. 862,437

[22] Filed Sept. 30, 11969 [45] Patented Dec. 211, 19711 [54] VISUALDISTRESS SIGNALING SYSTEM 5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

[51] Int. Cl 060m 11/52 [50] Field oi Search 340/52,66, 74, 79-83,110-112 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,106,432 8/1914Wilcox 340/52 UX 1,311,662 7/1919 McKeever 340/74 1,517,011 11/1924Lunday 340/74 UX 2,078,372 4/1937 Davis 340/81 UX 2,321,803 6/1943 Falgeet a1. 340/55 X 2,500,201 3/1950 Porter 340/74 UX 2,695,343 11/1954Howard. 340/74 X 2,845,608 7/1958 Short 340/81 1 s, an

3,005,975 10/1961 Lea 340/81 FOREIGN PATENTS 347,762 5/1931 GreatBritain 340/74 824,887 12/1959 Great Britain 340/81 PrimaryExaminer-John W. Caldwell Assistant Examiner-- Kenneth N. LeimerAtt0rney-Cushman, Darby & Cushman ABSTRACT: A visual distress signalingsystem designed especially for use in conjunction with automotivevehicles and including two lamps of different colors viewable from thefront of the vehicle, and two lamps of different colors viewable fromthe back of the vehicle. A manually operable control unit capable ofoperating the front and rear lights independently, and particularly forflashing the front or rear lights alternately as a primary distresssignal and simultaneously flashing only one of the lights (preferablythe blue light) at the opposite end of the vehicle indicating topassers-by going in the other direction to disregard for flashing onlyone of the front and rear lights as an acknowledgement of anotherprimary distress signal, and for flashing only the other lamp of thefront and rear lights as a secondary distress signal for guiding arescue vehicle or indicating that assistance has been provided.

PATENTEBDEB21 I97! 3; 629,821

SHEET 1 BF 2 INVE NTOR L. gem s ATTORNEYg VISUAL DISTRESS SIGNALINGSYSTEM BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe invention relates to communication systems and particularly tosignaling systems for producing visual emergency and recognition signalsin vehicles.

As the number of limited-access superhighways increases and the numberof cars crowding them increases at an even greater rate, the dangers anddifficulties resulting from a vehicle breakdown have also becomesubstantial and alarming. Because breakdowns usually do not occur atconvenient locations near service stations or other areas where help maybe sought, the choices available to the motorist in trouble are toattempt to flag a passing car or to walk many miles to the nearestfilling station or service center. Walking along a superhighway today isa dangerous undertaking, which may well be illegal, as well. Further,since most such highways have limited access, there may be no way tosafely reach a service station on foot, even if one is nearby.Attempting to flag a passing car is likewise rather a futile effort,because of the reluctance of the public to respond to what couldconceivably be a criminal trap and because of the long distance requiredto stop at high speeds.

Even just leaving the vehicle to attempt to flag a passing car may bedangerous. However, without a signaling system which can be activatedfrom the interior of the vehicle, there is no way to signal distressexcept by exiting and raising the hood, tying a white handkerchief tothe radio antenna or trying to wave at passing cars. None of thesedistress signals is particularly effective, nor does either a passingmotorist or the motorist in the stranded vehicle know whether or not aidhas already been summoned.

Most potential systems which could be employed on pleasure vehicles tosignal distress are too complex and expensive to be practical, or areotherwise unsuited for general use. The present invention relates to asimple signaling system whereby at least two different colored lightsare mounted on the vehicle so as to be viewable from the front and twosimilar lights are mounted so as to be viewable from the rear. Theselights are independently operable in at least three modes for producingthree different signals.

A system similar to the one described in detail below is fully disclosedand described in U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 528,157, filed Feb. 17,1966, now U. S. Pat. No. 3,493,924, and the disclosure of thatapplication is explicitly incorporated herein by reference. Theabove-mentioned application describes a visual distress signaling systemwith signal lights mounted either within the car or exterior to it, suchas adjacent the taillights and the headlights, the lights beingcontrolled by a manually operated, electrical circuit which causes themto flash in one of three modes. In the first mode, the electricalcircuitry, which contains conventional flasher units and connects to aconvenient source of electrical potential such as the car battery,flashes the two colored lights, which are preferably blue and greenlights, alternately. This mode indicates to passing cars that theoperator of the vehicle with the two flashing lights is in distress, andrequests passing motorists to stop at the next opportunity and summonaid for the disabled vehicle. The second mode in which the two lightscan be operated is with only one of the lights flashing, for example,the green light, while the other light, the blue light, remains dark.This mode can be used by a passing motorist to acknowledge the distresssignal and indicate to the motorist in the disabled vehicle with theflashing lights that help will be sent. The third mode in which theflashing lights can be operated is with only the other light, forexample, the blue light, flashing, and this mode can be used by thestranded mtorist to acknowledge the flashing green light of the passingmotorist, to indicate thereafter that there is now no necessity forother cars to summon aid and to point out the disabled vehicle to thetow truck or other vehicle sent to render aid.

However, when two sets of lights are used, one set consisting of a blueand green light which can be seen only from the front of the vehicle andone set consisting also of a blue and green light which can be seen onlyfrom the rear of the vehicle, there will be many situations in which itwill be desired to operate the sets independently. For any of a varietyof reasons, a stranded motorist may wish to summon help only fromvehicles going in one direction. One such reason might be that vehiclesgoing in the opposite direction would not encounter a convenient placeto summon aid for many miles. A vehicle acknowledging a distress signalmay signal that acknowledgment with his front and rear green lights.Stranded motorists likewise may respond to the acknowledgment signal ofa passing motorist with the front and rear blue lights.

The present invention relates to an improvement in the distress systemdescribed in the above-mentioned application Ser. No. 528,157, wherebythe front and rear lights can be operated independently. Further, thearrangement as described below comprises a unique pushbutton arrangementwith two flashers which are cross-connected to buttons for operating thetwo sets of lights.

Many other objects and purposes of the invention will become clear fromthe following detailed description of the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows a typical vehicle withfront and rear lamps for producing distress signals.

FIG. 2 shows a cutaway view of a pushbutton unit for controlling thefront and rear signal lights.

FIG. 3 shows an assembled unit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Reference is now made to FIG. lwhich shows a typical and conventional automotive vehicle having both apair of distress signal lights mounted in the front and a pair in therear of the vehicle. As described in greater detail, in theabove-mentioned application Ser. No. 528,157, the front distress lamps30 and 32 are provided with tinted glass or are otherwise constructed soas to give off a green and blue light, respectively, and the rear signallights 36 and 3% are likewise treated so as to produce green and blueillumination, respectively. A control unit Ml is mounted within thevehicle, for example, on the dash as shown, to control the operation ofthe front distress lights 30 and 32, as well as the rear distress lights36 and 38, in the three possible modes described briefly above.

As pointed out briefly above, and in greater detail in theaforementioned application Ser. No. 528,157, those three modes in whichthe green and blue lights can operate are:

1. both green and blue lights flash alternately, producing a distresssignal and thus requesting passing motorists to summon help,

2. the green light flashes front and rear as an acknowledgment by apassing motorist of the flashing blue and green distress signal of thedisabled motorist, and an indication to the disabled motorist that thesignaling passing motorist will summon help; and

3. the blue light flashes front and rear as an acknowledgment to thepassing motorists flashing green lights and an indication that no othermotorists need summon aid.

Of course, operation in other modes is possible, but these three modesare preferred.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 2 and 3 which show the control unit ofthis invention for independently operating the two sets of front andrear lights. This control unit is disposed within a cabinet 44 which maybe designed so as to blend properly with the styling of the interior ofthe vehicle. Power for operating the front and rear mounted lamps 30,32, 36 and 38, which flash the three indicated modes, is normallysupplied by a battery MS which is preferably the storage battery for thevehicle. The load on the battery of the four flashing lights and thecontrol unit will not be normally sufficient to substantially dischargethe battery 46 during the time the vehicle is stranded.

A fuse 48 preferably connects battery 46 to the on/off switch 50, whichin the off" position interrupts the passage of current to the flasher 52and which connects flashers 52 and 60 to the battery 46 when manuallyshifted to the "on" position. If desired, a separate on/off switch maybe provided for the rear and front sets of lights but, in the embodimentshown in FIGS. 2 and 3, only one on/off switch is provided to turn onand ofi both the rear and front lights. With only one on/off switch, theembodiment of FIGS. 1-3 requires that both the front and rear lightsoperate in at least one mode, but not necessarily the same one.

Thus, when the switch 50 is shifted to the on" position, current flowsfrom battery 46 through lines 56 and 58 to flashers 52 and 60. In thearrangement shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, flasher S2 is designed to controlthe operation of front light 32, which is preferably a blue light andrear light 38 which is also a blue light. A ground line 74 also connectstogether the two flashers S2 and 60. Flashers 52 and 60 are conventionaland one suitable flasher is described in US. Pat. No. 2,761,931, thedisclosure of which is explicitly incorporated herein by reference.Further, when battery 46 is connected to it by switch 50, flasher 52produces a pulsing output voltage on line 78 and flasher 60 produces asimilar pulsing output voltage on line 80, so that, when line 78 isconnected to light 32, a flashing blue light at the front of the vehicleis produced and similarly, when flasher S2 is connected to light 38, aflashing blue light is produced at the rear of the vehicle. Similarly,when flasher 60 is electrically connected via line 80 to lamp 30, aflashing green light is produced at the front of the vehicle and, whenit is connected to lamp 36, likewise a flashing green light is producedat the rear of the vehicle.

Thre'e pushbuttons 84, 86, and 88 are provided for controlling theoperation of the front lamps 30 and 32 in any one of the three possiblesignal modes, and three pushbuttons 1 I0, 112, and 114 are similarlyprovided for independent operation of the rear lamps 36 and 38. Thesepushbuttons are, in the em bodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, mountedconveniently above each other so that they can be easily operatedquickly and efficiently by the driver of the vehicle. Further, the threepushbuttons, for example, buttons 84, 86, and 88, which control theoperation of the front lamps 30 and 32, are designed so that when one ispushed inward any of the others which are held depressed will bereleased and will move outward. Thus, normally only one button at a timeis kept depressed. This function is performed by a small, conventionallatch 90 which, when a button is depressed, is pushed upward by one ormore protuberances, such as protuberance 91, on the shaft connected tothe depressed button. Springs 92, 94, and 96 are also provided on eachshaft of the buttons to push against plate 98 and urge the shafts 85,87, and 89 and the associated pushbuttons 84, 86, and 88 outward so thatwhen the latch 90 is pushed upward against a spring connecting it to thefront of the cabinet 44 by the inward movement of one of the shafts andpushbuttons, latch 90 no longer can maintain either of the other twopushbuttons in a depressed position, so, if either has been helddepressed by latch 90 it now moves outward to the outer position.

Pushbutton 84 when in the outer, undepressed position electricallyconnects, via contacts 102 and 104, line 80 to line 100 which in turnconnects to lamp 30. Thus, whenever the on/off switch 50 is operated andthe pushbutton 84 is in the outer position, the lamp 30 will flash.Contact 104 is mounted on shaft 85 for movement therewith so thatwhenever button 84 is depressed, the path between battery 46 and light30 is broken by the movement of contact 104. Likewise, electricalcontacts 106 and 108 associated with pushbutton 86 connect line 78 toline 109 whenever that pushbutton is in the outer undepressed positionto cause light 32 to flash. Contact 106 is mounted on shaft 87 formovement therewith so that whenever button 86 is depressed, the pathconnecting battery 46 to lamp 32 is broken by the movement of contact108. The pushbutton 88 does not connect together anything, but when itis depressed the other pushbuttons automatically return to the outerposition, so that depressing button 88 causes both lamps 30 and 32 to beconnected to the battery 46 and accordingly both to flash to indicatethat the motorist needs assistance.

The pushbuttons 110, 112, and 114 for the rear lamps operate similarlyto cause the rear lamps to flash in any of the three above-describedmodes. Although for purposes of illustration, buttons H0, H2, and 114are shown removed from cabinet 44 in FIG. 2, these buttons will normallybe mounted below buttons 84, 86, and 88 as shown in FIG. 3. Further, ascan be seen in FIG. 2, lines 116 and 118 are connected to lines 78 and80, respectively, and in turn connect to rear lights 36 and 38 viacontacts 120, 122, 124, and 126. These contacts operate in the samefashion as contacts 102, 104, 106, and 108 and contacts 122 and 124 aremounted on shafts I28 and 130, which in turn are associated with buttonsand 112, for movement therewith. By connecting the lines as shown, onlytwo flashers are required to operate both the front and rear lights andyet the front and rear lights can be operated independently and indifferent modes simultaneously.

Many changes and modifications of the unique arrangement shown in FIGS.1, 2, and 3 can be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is intended to belimited only by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A visual distress warning system for a vehicle comprising:

a first set of signaling lamps comprising at least a first lampproducing light of a first color which is visible from the front of saidvehicle and a second lamp producing light of a second color which isvisible from the front of said vehicle,

a second set of signaling lights comprising at least a first lampproducing light of said first color which is visible from the rear ofsaid vehicle and a second lamp producing light of said second colorwhich is visible from the rear of said vehicle, and

manually operable control means within said vehicle for causing saidfirst set of lamps to produce at least first, second, and third lightsignals, said first signal comprising the flashing of one of said lampsof a set, said second signal comprising the flashing of the other lampof that set and said third signal comprising the flashing of both lampsof that set alternately, and for causing said second set of lights toproduce at least said first, second, and third light signals, saidcontrol means including means for causing said first set of lamps toproduce one signal and said second set of lamps to produce a differentsignal simultaneously.

2. A system as in claim 1, wherein said first color is green and saidsecond color is blue.

3. A system as in claim 1 wherein said control means includes a firstflasher means for producing a pulsing voltage output, second flashermeans for producing a pulsing voltage output, means electricallyconnecting said first and second flasher means to a source of electricalpotential, first switch means for electrically connecting said firstflasher means to said first lamp in said first set of lamps to causesaid first lamp in said first set to flash and said second flasher meansto said second lamp in said first set of lamps to cause said second lampin said first set to flash and second switch means for electricallyconnecting said first flasher means to said first lamp in said secondset of lamps to cause said first lamp in said second set to flash andsaid second flasher means to said second lamp in said second set oflamps to cause said second lamp in said second set to flash.

4. A system as in claim 3 wherein said source of potential is a directcurrent battery.

5. A system as in claim 3 wherein said first and second switch meanseach include, first, second, and third manually depressable pushbuttons,means for maintaining a manually movable with said second pushbutton;for connecting said second flasher means to said second lamp when saidsecond pushbutton is not depressed and for disconnecting said secondflasher means from said second lamp when said second pushbutton isdepressed.

1. A visual distress warning system for a vehicle comprising: a firstset of signaling lamps comprising at least a first lamp producing lightof a first color which is visible from the front of said vehicle and asecond lamp producing light of a second color which is visible from thefront of said vehicle, a second sEt of signaling lights comprising atleast a first lamp producing light of said first color which is visiblefrom the rear of said vehicle and a second lamp producing light of saidsecond color which is visible from the rear of said vehicle, andmanually operable control means within said vehicle for causing saidfirst set of lamps to produce at least first, second, and third lightsignals, said first signal comprising the flashing of one of said lampsof a set, said second signal comprising the flashing of the other lampof that set and said third signal comprising the flashing of both lampsof that set alternately, and for causing said second set of lights toproduce at least said first, second, and third light signals, saidcontrol means including means for causing said first set of lamps toproduce one signal and said second set of lamps to produce a differentsignal simultaneously.
 2. A system as in claim 1, wherein said firstcolor is green and said second color is blue.
 3. A system as in claim 1wherein said control means includes a first flasher means for producinga pulsing voltage output, second flasher means for producing a pulsingvoltage output, means electrically connecting said first and secondflasher means to a source of electrical potential, first switch meansfor electrically connecting said first flasher means to said first lampin said first set of lamps to cause said first lamp in said first set toflash and said second flasher means to said second lamp in said firstset of lamps to cause said second lamp in said first set to flash andsecond switch means for electrically connecting said first flasher meansto said first lamp in said second set of lamps to cause said first lampin said second set to flash and said second flasher means to said secondlamp in said second set of lamps to cause said second lamp in saidsecond set to flash.
 4. A system as in claim 3 wherein said source ofpotential is a direct current battery.
 5. A system as in claim 3 whereinsaid first and second switch means each include, first, second, andthird manually depressable pushbuttons, means for maintaining a manuallydepressed pushbutton in a depressed position and for releasing all otherdepressed pushbuttons when one pushbutton is depressed, first contactmeans movable with said first pushbutton for connecting said firstflasher means to said first lamp when said first pushbutton is notdepressed and for disconnecting said first flasher means from said firstlamp when said first pushbutton is depressed, and second contact meansmovable with said second pushbutton for connecting said second flashermeans to said second lamp when said second pushbutton is not depressedand for disconnecting said second flasher means from said second lampwhen said second pushbutton is depressed.